176 



SCIENCE 



[N. a Vol. XLIII. No. 1101 



as well as its cultural characters are so distinc- 

 tive as to leave no doubt as to its identity. 

 The fungus collected by Meyer at Nikko is un- 

 questionably Endothia parasitica. 



The above statement was completed and sub- 

 mitted for publication December 23, 1915. 

 During the interval following, several speci- 

 mens of fungi from Japan have been received 

 by the writers which are of such interest in 

 connection with the observations recorded 

 above that it seems desirable to add them. 

 On December 27, 1915, there was received 

 from the Federal Horticultural Board a speci- 

 men of diseased chestnut nursery stock (their 

 number 947), which had been sent by H. M. 

 Williamson, secretary of the State Board of 

 Horticulture at Portland, Oregon. 



In the letter transmitting the specimen Mr. 

 Williamson states that it was from 



an importation of nursery stock . . . grown at 

 Kanagawa-Ken, Yokohama, Japan. . . . Included 

 in this shipment were some chestnut trees and five 

 of the chestnut trees were diseased. . . . Four of 

 the chestnut trees have been burned and I am 

 mailing you the other diseased tree under separate 

 cover. 



The fungus, which showed only pycnidia, 

 has been cultured and is apparently the same 

 as that found on the chestnut seedlings con- 

 demned at San Francisco in February, 1915, 

 and mentioned above, and which was also 

 found on the specimen brought from Japan by 

 Swingle. 



A small specimen of an Endothia collected 

 at Nikko, Japan, September 17, 1915, on bark 

 of Pasania sp. {Quercus of some authors), has 

 been recently transmitted to the vsriters by 

 Mr. Frank IST. Meyer. This specimen shows 

 typical ascospores of Endothia radicalis 

 (Schw.) and in cultures proved identical with 

 those of Endothia radicalis collected in this 

 country. This collection seems to leave no 

 doubt that E. radicalis is indigenous in Japan 

 and that there as in Europe and America it is 

 not confined to Castanea. 



January 8, 1916, the writers received from 

 Dr. Gentaro Tamada, of the Morioka Imperial 

 College of Agriculture and Forestry, two speci- 



mens, one labeled " on Quercus crispula. Mi. 

 Moriva, near Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. 

 March 27, 1897. Coll. G. Tamada & T. Totsu," 

 the other labeled "Endothia parasitica on 

 Castanea vulgaris Lam. var. japonica DO. 

 Morioka, northern Japan. Dee. 5, 1915. Coll. 

 G. Yamada." The fungus on Quercus crispula 

 was of coiirse no longer viable. It contained, 

 however, abundant ascospores which agree in 

 their measurements with those of Endothia 

 radicalis. 



The specimen on Castanea is typical Endo- 

 thia parasitica, as shown by the mycelial fans, 

 pycnospores and ascospores, and by cultures. 

 This specimen shows hypertrophy of the tissues 

 very similar to that produced by the fungus on 

 American chestnuts. In the letter accompany- 

 ing this specimen, dated December 15, 1915, 

 Dr. Yamada says he found the specimen of E. 

 parasitica on his first collecting trip after his 

 return to Japan. In this connection it may be 

 stated that during his recent visit to this 

 country Dr. Tamada spent some time with 

 the writers in examining specimens of Endo- 

 thia parasitica and other species of Endothia 

 and took back with him typical specimens. 

 This probably accounts for his finding the 

 fungus so quickly. 



C. L. Shear, 

 Neil E. Stevens 



Bureau of Plant Industry, 

 Washington, D. C. 



THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ZOOLO- 

 GISTS. II 



GENETICS 



Sex Controlled in Rotifers by Food (illustrated by 

 lantern) : D. D. Whitney, Wesleyan University. 

 Several species from two of the five orders of 

 rotifers have yielded very positive results. All 

 female offspring were produced under certain food 

 conditions and from 30 per cent, to 95 per cent, 

 male offspring were produced under certain other 

 food conditions. In some of the species the off- 

 spring were all females when the race was fed 

 upon a diet of colorless flagellates, but when the 

 race was suddenly put upon a diet of green flagel- 

 lates a high percentage of male offspring ap- 

 peared. In other species a scanty diet of green 

 flagellates produced all female offspring while a 



